Read Online Double Trouble by Tia Mowry - Free Book Online Page A

Mom interrupted. “I already sent it back.”
    My jaw dropped. “Huh?”
    â€œYou what?” Caitlyn sounded confused.
    â€œI sent it back,” Mom repeated, emphasizing each word. “Return to sender.”
    My mind swirled. Was she serious? I could feel tears forming in my eyes.
    Mom must have noticed, because her expression softened slightly. “Enough about that,” she said briskly. “But maybe I was too hasty about the party. I’ll have to speak to Megan’s parents, of course. But I suppose a party would be a nice way for you two to settle in.”
    She didn’t sound very sure of that. But I blinked back my tears, trying to see the silver lining here. Mom was still refusing to talk about our dad, and she’d sent our package back—the only thing that might have explained what was happening to us. But at least she wasn’t going to insist on making me a social outcast.
    At least there was that.
    â€œOKAY, SO WAS that the least fun trip to the mall ever, or what?” I commented, flopping onto my bed.It was late that evening. Mom had just left for her night shift at the precinct, ordering me and Cait to be in bed by ten. But I felt restless and wide-awake.
    Caitlyn’s only response was a grunt. She kept her eyes trained on her laptop, which was open on the bed in front of her.
    We hadn’t talked much since the mall debacle. Okay, we hadn’t talked at all. Unless you counted “Pass the salt” at dinner.
    What was she mad at me about now? Whatever it was, she needed to get over it. And not only because we had a party to plan. I could do that by myself.
    What I couldn’t do on my own was figure out the rest of the mess that was our lives. How could Mom have mailed back that package? And if the package was really gone, how were we ever going to find out more about this Sight thing? It was pretty obvious that Mom wasn’t going to be any help at all. Pretty much the opposite, actually.
    â€œCait?” I said. “Earth to Cait.”
    She shot me a brief, annoyed look. “What? I haveto finish these word problems for tomorrow.”
    Her tone was anything but friendly. Fine. I wasn’t going to beg her to talk to me. Clicking off the light on my bedside table, I turned my face to the wall and waited for sleep.

9
CAITLYN
    I SAT IN homeroom on Monday feeling out of sorts. The B Boys were horsing around in the back of the room, playing keepaway with Biff’s math book. They were making tons of noise, and it was giving me a headache.
    But I knew it wasn’t really the B Boys who were bugging me. I hated fighting with Cassie. I hated it a whole lot. And I could tell she’d wanted to make up the night before.
    But I hadn’t been ready then. Not because herfriends had hijacked the party. Whatever, I could deal with that. Not even because she kept calling Liam and Bianca nerds. I was used to that sort of thing from her.
    That scene at the mall, though? That had shaken me up. For real. When Cassie had started going at Mom, it was like she’d totally forgotten they were in public. What was she expecting to happen, anyway? Mom didn’t deal well with threats or tantrums, and she could be just as stubborn as Cassie. Confronting her like that? Not only was it guaranteed not to work, but it might even make her less likely to tell us the truth.
    We needed Mom on our side right now if we ever wanted to figure out what was happening to us, and Cassie may have ruined that for us forever.
    â€œI got my pool party invitation!” Liam said, breaking into my thoughts. “If you need an RSVP, consider this mine—I’ll be there.”
    â€œCool.” I forced a smile, then glanced at Bianca. As usual, she was reading a book at her desk, her dark hair falling forward to block her face from view.“What about you, Bianca? Did you get your invite?” I knew Cassie had e-mailed the whole guest list the night